Jerry Springer dead: Legendary TV host was 79

Jerry Springer, one of the most influential talk show hosts in TV history, has died. He was 79.

Springer died peacefully in his home in suburban Chicago on Thursday, according to a statement from his family, local Cincinnati NBC affiliate WLWT5 reported.

“Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word,” said Jene Galvin, a lifelong friend and spokesman for the family. “He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on.”

A family spokesperson said Springer was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago, which unfortunately took a bad turn this week, according to TMZ.

Springer spoke to The Post just last year and touched on his pop culture legacy.

“If a legacy is what you’re best-known for, obviously I’m best known for the crazy show,” he said, alluding to “The Jerry Springer Show.”

“In a sense, I’ve become an adjective in the English language when people say ‘I’m having a Jerry Springer moment’ or when they say ‘Don’t go Jerry Springer on me now.’ Everyone knows instantly what they’re talking about.”

Springer — born Gerald Norman “Jerry” Springer — was born on February 13, 1944, in London, England, to Jewish refugees from Germany. Both of his grandmothers were killed in Nazi concentration camps.

His family emigrated to the US in January 1949 when Springer was almost 5 years old, settling in Queens, New York, where he grew up with his sister, Evelyn.

He attended Tulane University where he received a BA in political science in 1965.

Springer grew up in New York and eventually moved to Cincinnati 1968 after graduating from Northwestern University law school.

He worked for Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign, marking the start of his career in the political sphere.

While in Cincinnati, he was the chairman of the Hamilton County “Voter-19 Campaign,” seeking to lower. The voting age in Ohio, according to ABC’s WCPO 9 Cincinnati.

After making his mark in politics, he unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1970 as a Democrat against four-term incumbent Republican Donald Clancy.

Just three days after announcing his candidacy for Congress, Springer, who served in the US Army Reserves at the time, was called to active duty and deployed to Fort Knox. He continued his campaign when he was discharged.

While he did not clench the nomination, he got 45% of the vote.

Springer was then elected to Cincinnati’s City Council in 1971 and re-elected in 1973 — but his political stint didn’t come without controversy.

He was reportedly known as “the city council member who got caught paying for sex with checks.”

Springer resigned from Cincinnati City Council on April 29, 1974, making a public apology and confession.

Later, in 1977, he was elected as Cincinnati’s 56th mayor and served one term.

He unsuccessfully ran in the Democratic Party primary for Governor of Ohio in 1982. He also considered running for the US Senate in both 2000 and 2004, but ultimately decided against it.

“Jerry Springer” debuted September 30, 1991, on Cincinnati’s WLWT as their answer to the popular Dayton, Ohio-based “The Phil Donahue Show” — even chopping Springer’s hair and fashioning him with new glasses to mimic Donahue’s look. But Springer’s broadcast, which launched as a politically oriented talk show, became a wholly different spectacle by year three on air.

In 1993, the show got a new producer, Richard Dominick, who helped overhaul the format to garner a larger audience. Rather than politicians and public figures, guests became ordinary people with extraordinary stories to tell. They came to the show to confess their secrets — of adultery, homosexuality, disability, transgenderism and other arguably taboo subjects of the time — usually with family and lovers in tow. Often, these heated confrontations would lead to shouting and violence on stage on — to the extent that viewers came to expect a scuffle with each weekday installment.

By 1998, “Jerry Springer” rivaled ratings for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in several local markets, reaching close to 7 million viewers in a given episode.

Springer is survived by his ex-wife Micki Velton and his daughter Katie.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks fans to consider making a donation or committing to an act of kindness to someone in need or an advocacy organization.

They added in their statement, “As he always said, ‘Take care of yourself, and each other.’”

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